System and method for processing digital images

ABSTRACT

A system for processing digital images comprising: at least one remote hardware processor; and at least one device, comprising at least one processing circuitry configured for: receiving from at least one image sensor, electrically coupled to the processing circuitry, at least one digital image captured by the at least one image sensor; partitioning at least one object, identified in the at least one digital image, into a plurality of object segments; replacing in the at least one digital image each of the plurality of object segments with a schematic segment, illustrating respective object segment, to produce at least one schematic image; and sending the at least one schematic image to the remote hardware processor; wherein the remote hardware processor is adapted to: receiving the at least one schematic image from the at least one device; analyzing the at least one schematic image to identify at least one behavioral pattern.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to amonitoring system and, more specifically, but not exclusively, to amonitoring system in a public space.

There is increased use of cameras in public and private spaces. A cameramay be used to capture a digital image, and additionally oralternatively a digital video. Some possible uses of a camera aresurveillance and detection of anomalous conditions such as a fire, waterflooding or existence of smoke. Another possible use of a camera isvideo analytics, for example analyzing people traffic in a space.

There is a risk that a digital image or a digital video produced by acamera will be used in a way that violates a person's expectation toprivacy, for example by publishing a digital image on a social networkplatform or by extracting private information from a digital image. Insome countries there exist laws that restrict use of cameras, includingimposing restrictions on locations where cameras may be placed andgoverning installation procedures, for example requiring installingsigns to notify about the presence of a camera. Such laws restrict whereimages may be captured and warn a person of a risk, but do not preventunauthorized use of a captured image.

There is a need to process images or videos captured by a camera in away that reduces risk of violating a person's expectation of privacy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and amethod for processing digital images.

The foregoing and other objects are achieved by the features of theindependent claims. Further implementation forms are apparent from thedependent claims, the description and the figures.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a system for processingdigital images comprises at least one remote hardware processor; and atleast one device, comprising at least one processing circuitryconfigured for: receiving from at least one image sensor, electricallycoupled to the processing circuitry, at least one digital image capturedby the at least one image sensor; partitioning at least one object,identified in the at least one digital image, into a plurality of objectsegments; replacing in the at least one digital image each of theplurality of object segments with a schematic segment, illustratingrespective object segment, to produce at least one schematic image; andsending the at least one schematic image to the at least one remotehardware processor. According to the first aspect of the invention, theat least one remote hardware processor is adapted to: receiving the atleast one schematic image from the at least one device; analyzing the atleast one schematic image to identify at least one behavioral pattern ofat least one schematic object identified in the at least one schematicimage, each of the at least one schematic object comprising a pluralityof schematic segments and illustrating one of the at least one object;and outputting an indication of the at least one behavioral pattern.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a method for processingdigital images comprises: on at least one device: receiving from atleast one image sensor, electrically coupled to a processing circuitry,at least one digital image captured by the at least one image sensor;partitioning at least one object, identified in the at least one digitalimage, into a plurality of object segments; replacing in the at leastone digital image each of the plurality of object segments with aschematic segment, illustrating respective object segment, to produce atleast one schematic image; and sending the at least one schematic imageto the at least one remote hardware processor; and on at least oneremote hardware processor: receiving the at least one schematic imagefrom the at least one device; analyzing the at least one schematic imageto identify at least one behavioral pattern of at least one schematicobject identified in the at least one schematic image, each of the atleast one schematic object comprising a plurality of schematic segmentsand illustrating one of the at least one object; and outputting anindication of the at least one behavioral pattern.

With reference to the first and second aspects, in a first possibleimplementation of the first and second aspects of the present inventionthe at least one object is a person or an animal. Optionally, at leastone of the plurality of object segments is a body part. Optionally, thebody part is selected from a group of body parts consisting of: a limb,a torso, a part of a torso, a head, a part of a limb, and a joint.Identifying a person or an animal allows concealing an identity of theperson or animal by replacing a plurality of object segments of theperson or animal, thus increasing usability of a device implementedaccording to the present invention, for example allowing usage in aspace where there is an expectation of privacy. Identifying a body partfacilitates identifying the at least one behavioral pattern according toa position or a movement of the body part, thus increasing accuracy ofan identification of the at least one behavioral pattern. Optionally,the at least one object is a vehicle. Identifying a vehicle increasesusability of a device implemented according to the present invention,for example allowing usage for traffic monitoring. Optionally, theschematic segment is a two-dimensional geometric object. Using a twodimensional geometric object allows obscuring one or more identifyingfeatures of the at least one object while still allowing identificationof the at least one behavioral pattern, thus increasing accuracy of anoutput of a system implemented using the present invention compared to asystem using other methods of obscuring an object segment such aspixelation.

With reference to the first and second aspects, in a second possibleimplementation of the first and second aspects of the present inventionthe at least one processing circuitry is further configured for removingfrom the at least one schematic image at least one other object,identified in the at least one digital image. Optionally, the at leastone other object is selected from a group comprising: a person, alicense plate, a building, a fence, an animal, and an identified privateregion. Removing the at least one other object facilitates removingprivate information from the at least one schematic image, thusincreasing system security.

With reference to the first and second aspects, in a third possibleimplementation of the first and second aspects of the present inventionthe at least one behavioral pattern is identified according to at leastone of: a posture of the at least one schematic object, at least onegesture of the at least one schematic object, and at least one clusterof the at least one schematic object. Optionally, the at least onebehavioral pattern is selected from a group of possible behavioralpatterns comprising: a congregation of persons, a person walking, aperson running, a person falling, a person lying down, an object movinginto a road, a person riding a bicycle, a person riding an electricalbicycle, contact between a vehicle and a person, a missed contactbetween a vehicle and a person, an altercation between at least twopersons, an object bypassing an obstacle, a person being attacked,drawing of a weapon, stalking, vagrancy, and presence of a person in arestricted region. Identifying the at least one behavioral patternaccording to one or more of a posture, a gesture, and a cluster of theat least one schematic object increases accuracy of identification ofthe at least one behavioral pattern.

With reference to the first and second aspects, in a fourth possibleimplementation of the first and second aspects of the present inventionthe at least one processing circuitry is configured for sending the atleast one schematic image to the at least one remote hardware processorvia at least one digital communication network interface connected tothe at least one processing circuitry. Optionally, the at least onedigital communication network interface is connected to a digitalcommunication network selected from a group of networks comprising of:an Ethernet network, a wireless local area network, and a cellularnetwork. Sending the at least one schematic image to the at least oneremote hardware processor via at least one digital communication networkinterface facilitates processing the at least one schematic image in aremote location, reducing an amount of processing resources required onthe at least one device and thus reducing cost of implementation andcost of operation of the at least one device.

With reference to the first and second aspects, in a fifth possibleimplementation of the first and second aspects of the present inventionthe at least one remote hardware processor is further adapted tocomputing a plurality of statistical values according to the at leastone schematic object. Optionally, analyzing the at least one schematicimage comprises computing the plurality of statistical values, and theindication of the at least one behavioral pattern comprises at leastsome of the plurality of statistical values. Optionally, the pluralityof statistical values comprises at least one of: an amount of personsidentified in an identified region of the at least one schematic image,an amount of persons identified in the at least one schematic image inan identified amount of time, an amount of persons identified in the atleast one schematic image performing an identified activity, an amountof an identified event identified in the at least one schematic image,and an amount of vehicles identified in the at least one schematicimage. Using a plurality of statistical values when analyzing the atleast one schematic image increases accuracy of identification of the atleast one behavioral pattern.

With reference to the first and second aspects, in a sixth possibleimplementation of the first and second aspects of the present inventionoutputting the indication of the at least one behavioral patterncomprises one or more of: storing the indication on at least onenon-volatile digital storage connected to the at least one remotehardware processor, sending the indication to at least one other remotehardware processor, sending a message to a communication device of auser, displaying a message on a display device connected to the at leastone remote hardware processor, and delivering an electrical signal to anaudio device connected to the at least one remote hardware processor.

With reference to the first and second aspects, in a seventh possibleimplementation of the first and second aspects of the present inventionpartitioning the at least one object comprises executing at least oneneural network by the at least one processing circuitry. Optionally,replacing in the at least one digital image each of the plurality ofobject segments comprises executing at least one other neural network bythe at least one processing circuitry. Using at least one neural networkto partition the at least one object, and additionally or alternativelyusing at least one other neural network to replace the plurality ofobject segments in the at least one digital image increases accuracy ofa schematic image compared to some other image processing methods, forexample region growing or k-means clustering.

Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponexamination of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, features, andadvantages be included within this description, be within the scope ofthe present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and/or scientific terms usedherein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinaryskill in the art to which the invention pertains. Although methods andmaterials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used inthe practice or testing of embodiments of the invention, exemplarymethods and/or materials are described below. In case of conflict, thepatent specification, including definitions, will control. In addition,the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and are notintended to be necessarily limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments of the invention are herein described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specificreference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that theparticulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrativediscussion of embodiments of the invention. In this regard, thedescription taken with the drawings makes apparent to those skilled inthe art how embodiments of the invention may be practiced.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary system, according tosome embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart schematically representing an optional flow ofoperations for a device, according to some embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart schematically representing another optional flowof operations for a device, according to some embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart schematically representing an optional flow ofoperations for processing a schematic image, according to someembodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart schematically representing an optional flow ofoperations for analyzing a schematic image, according to someembodiments of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to amonitoring system and, more specifically, but not exclusively, to amonitoring system in a public space.

There is a need to process digital images in order to identify abehavioral pattern of interest. Some examples of a behavioral patternare a congregation of persons, presence of a person in a restrictedregion, and an altercation between at least two people. However, thereis also a need to preserve the privacy of people and other objectsidentifiable in the digital images. For example, when identifying acongregation of persons there may be a need to identify an amount ofpersons, while preserving anonymity of the persons themselves. Inanother example, when identifying an altercation between at least twopeople there may be a need to preserve anonymity of other people notparty to the altercation.

Some existing solutions process digital images and digital videos on thecamera that captured the digital images and the digital video. In suchsolutions there is still a risk that a captured image or a capturedvideo can be accessed by an unauthorized entity gaining unauthorizedaccess to the camera.

Some other existing solutions use a camera with an imaging sensorsensitive to non-visible light, such as infrared light and 3-dimentionallighting techniques. Such other solutions are more expensive thatsolutions using visible light. In addition, there are some videoanalytics applications that cannot be applied to images captured usingnon-visible light, for example processing that is dependent on colorinformation, such as detection of a uniform or of a hard hat.

Yet some other existing solutions blur in a captured image one or moreobjects detected in the captured image, however blurring is not alwayssufficient to preserve a person's privacy, for example clothing colorsmay be preserved.

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, proposes replacingone or more objects identified in a digital image with one or moreschematic objects each illustrating one of the one or more objects, andanalyzing the one or more schematic objects to identify one or morebehavior patterns of the one or more schematic objects. In suchembodiments, the one or more behavior patterns of the one or moreschematic objects illustrate one or more real behavior patterns betweenthe one or more objects identified in the one or more images, whilepreserving privacy of the one or more objects.

To do so, in some embodiments the present invention proposes identifyingan object in a digital image and replacing the object with a pluralityof schematic segments, each schematic segment illustrating one of aplurality of segments of the identified object. In such embodiments, oneor more objects identified in one or more digital images are partitionedinto a plurality of object segments, and each of the plurality of objectsegments is replaced with a schematic segment illustrating therespective object segment. For example, when an object is a person or ananimal the plurality of object segments may comprise one or more bodyparts. Some examples of schematic segments are a line, a circle and apolygon. For example, a head may be replaced by a circle, a torso may bereplaced by a rectangle and a limb may be replaced by a line.Optionally, the one or more objects are partitioned using one or moreneural networks. One or more schematic images, comprising a plurality ofschematic segments in place of the one or more objects, are optionallysent to one or more remote hardware processors, optionally for thepurpose of performing an image related analysis. For example, the one ormore schematic images may be analyzed to identify one or more behavioralpatterns of the one or more schematic objects. Some examples of abehavioral pattern are a person walking, a congregation or persons,drawing of a weapon and presence of a person in a restricted region.

According to some embodiments of the present invention the one or morebehavioral patterns illustrate one or more real behavioral patterns ofthe one or more objects identified in the one or more digital images.Thus, illustrating the one or more objects identified in the one or moredigital images using one or more schematic objects, each comprising aplurality of schematic segments, allows identifying one or more realbehavioral patterns of the one or more objects without exposing the oneor more objects, increasing usability of a digital camera in spaceswhere there is an expectation of privacy. When one of the one or moreobjects is a person, the present invention facilitates identifying areal behavioral pattern of the person without violating the person'sprivacy by identifying a behavioral pattern of a schematic objectillustrating the person. In addition, in such embodiments, should anunauthorized entity gain access to the one or more schematic images, asthe one or more objects are replaced by the one or more schematicobjects there is reduced risk of the unauthorized entity identifying theone or more objects and exposing private information of the one or moreobjects. Optionally, a device implemented according to the presentinvention comprises processing circuitry electrically coupled with animage sensor such that the one or more digital images are received bythe processing circuitry from the image sensor without being stored in amemory component, for example a random access memory (RAM) component,and cannot be accessed by an entity external to the device, increasingsecurity of a device implemented according to the present invention.

In addition the present invention, in some embodiments thereof, proposescomputing a plurality of statistical values and indicating the at leastone behavioral pattern using at least some of the plurality ofstatistical values. For example, a possible statistical value is anamount of persons identified in an identified region of the one or moreschematic images. A possible behavioral pattern is a congregation ofpersons, and an indication of identifying the congregation of personsoptionally comprises the amount of persons identified.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, itis to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited in itsapplication to the details of construction and the arrangement of thecomponents and/or methods set forth in the following description and/orillustrated in the drawings and/or the Examples. The invention iscapable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out invarious ways.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network.

The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, forexample, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays(FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computerreadable program instructions by utilizing state information of thecomputer readable program instructions to personalize the electroniccircuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, showing a schematic block diagram of anexemplary system 100, according to some embodiments of the presentinvention. In such embodiments, at least one device 100 comprises one ormore processing circuitry 111, optionally electrically coupled with oneor more image sensors 112. Some examples of an image sensor are adigital camera, a thermal imaging device, and a digital video camera. Aprocessing circuitry may be any kind of programmable or non-programmablecircuitry that is configured to carry out operations described below. Aprocessing circuitry may comprise hardware as well as software. Forexample, a processing circuitry may comprise one or more hardwareprocessors and transitory or non-transitory memory that carries aprogram which causes the processing circuitry to perform the respectiveoperations when the program is executed by the one or more hardwareprocessors. Optionally, at least one device 110 is connected to at leastone remote hardware processor 120 for example for the purpose ofprocessing, by at least one remote hardware processor 120, data sentfrom at least one device 101. Optionally, at least one remote hardwareprocessor 120 comprises other programmable circuitry. Optionally, atleast one device 110 comprises one or more digital communication networkinterfaces 113. For brevity, henceforth the term “network interface” isused to mean “one or more digital communication network interfaces, andthe term processor is used to mean “one or more processing circuitry”.Processor 111 may be connected to network interface 113 and optionallyprocessor 111 is connected to at least one remote hardware processor 120via network interface 113. Optionally, network interface 113 isconnected to a digital communication network. Optionally, the digitalcommunication network is a local area network, for example an Ethernetnetwork, and a wireless local area network. Optionally, the digitalcommunication network is a wide area network, for example a cellularnetwork such as a Global System for Mobile (GSM) network.

Optionally, at least one remote hardware processor 120 is connected toone or more non-volatile digital storage 130, for example for thepurpose of storing an output of at least one remote hardware processor120. Some examples of a non-volatile digital storage are a hard diskdrive, a network storage and a storage network. Optionally, at least oneremote hardware processor 120 is connected to one or more display device121, for example for the purpose of displaying a message. Some examplesof a display device are a monitor and a computer screen. Optionally, atleast one remote hardware processor 120 is connected to one or moreaudio device 122, for example for the purpose of generating an alarm.Some examples of an audio device are a speaker and a mobile device suchas a mobile phone.

To process one or more digital images, system 100 implements, in someembodiments thereof, the following optional method.

Reference is now made also to FIG. 2, showing a flowchart schematicallyrepresenting an optional flow of operations 200 for a device, accordingto some embodiments of the present invention. In such embodiments, in201 processor 111 receives from one or more image sensors 112 one ormore digital images captured by one or more image sensors 112. In 210,processor 111 optionally partitions at least one object, identified inthe one or more digital images, into a plurality of object segments.Optionally, the at least one object is a person. Optionally, the atleast one object is an animal. Optionally, at least one of the pluralityof object segments is a body part. For example, when the at least oneobject is a person, at least one of the plurality of object segments maybe a body part of a person. Some examples of body parts are a limb suchas an arm or a leg, a torso, a part of a torso such as a chest, anabdomen or a back, a head, a part of a limb such as a shin, a thigh, ahand, a foot or a forearm, and a joint such as a wrist, an elbow or aknee. Optionally, the at least one object is a vehicle. Some examples ofvehicles are a car, a truck, a bicycle, and electrical bicycle, askateboard, a hover-board and a Segway. Optionally, at least one of theplurality of object segments is a segment of a vehicle. Some examples ofa segment of a vehicle are a license plate, a wheel, a saddle, ahandlebar, a frame, a cab, a platform, a container and a window.Optionally, processor 111 executes at least one neural network topartition the at least one object.

In 220, processor 111 optionally replaces in the one or more digitalimages each of the plurality object segments with a schematic segmentillustrating the respective object segments, to produce one or moreschematic images. Optionally, a schematic segment is a two-dimensionalgeometric object. Some examples of two-dimensional geometric objects area line, a circle, a polygon, and an annulus. Some examples of a polygonare a triangle, a square, a rectangle and an octagon. An annulus mayhave a circular cross section. An annulus may have a polygon crosssection. For example, when the at least one object is a person, theperson may be partitioned into a plurality of object segments comprisinga head, a torso, a left arm, a left shoulder, a right arm, and a rightshoulder. In such an example, processor 111 may replace the head with acircle, the torso with a rectangle, the left arm and the right arm eachwith a line and the left shoulder and the right shoulder each withanother circle, optionally smaller than the circle used to replace thehead. Optionally, each of the schematic segments has a color.Optionally, processor 111 executes at least one other neural network toreplace in the one or more digital images each of the plurality objectsegments.

In 230, processor 111 optionally sends the one or more schematic imagesto at least one hardware processor 120.

In some embodiments, processor 111 additionally removes one or moreobjects from the one or more schematic images.

Reference is now made also to FIG. 3, showing a flowchart schematicallyrepresenting another optional flow of operations 300 for a device,according to some embodiments of the present invention. In suchembodiments, before sending the one or more schematic images to at leastone hardware processor 120 in 230, processor 111 removes in 221 from theone or more schematic images at least one other object identified in theone or more digital images. Optionally, the at least one other object isa fixed object, for example a building or a fence. Optionally, processor111 removes at least one object segment of the plurality of objectsegments instead of replacing the at least one object segment with oneor more schematic object segments. For example, the at least one otherobject may be a vehicle part, for example a license plate. Optionally,processor 111 removes the license plate instead of replacing the licenseplate with a schematic segment. Optionally, the at least one object isan identified private region, i.e. an area in at least one of the one ormore digital images identified as private.

To identify one or more behavior patterns in the one or more schematicimages, in some embodiments of the present invention system 100 furtherimplements the following optional method.

Reference is now made also to FIG. 4, showing a flowchart schematicallyrepresenting an optional flow of operations 400 for processing aschematic image, according to some embodiments of the present invention.In such embodiments, in 401 at least one remote hardware processor 101receives the one or more schematic images from at least one device 110.In 410, at least one remote hardware processor 120 optionally analyzedthe one or more schematic images.

Reference is now made also to FIG. 5, showing a flowchart schematicallyrepresenting an optional flow of operations 500 for analyzing aschematic image, according to some embodiments of the present invention.Optionally, in 501 at least one hardware processor 120 identifies in theone or more schematic images one or more schematic objects. Optionally,each of the one or more schematic objects comprises a plurality ofschematic segments and illustrates one of the at least one objectidentified by processor 111 in the one or more digital images. In 510,at least one remote hardware processor 120 optionally identifies atleast one behavioral pattern of the one or more schematic objects. Someexamples of a behavioral pattern are: a congregation of persons, aperson walking, a person running, a person falling, a person lying down,an object moving into a road, a person riding a bicycle, a person ridingan electrical bicycle, contact between a vehicle and a person, a missedcontact between a vehicle and a person, an altercation between at leasttwo persons, an object bypassing an obstacle, a person being attacked,drawing of a weapon, stalking, vagrancy, and presence of a person in arestricted region. Optionally, at least one hardware processor 120identifies the at least one behavioral pattern according to a posture ofat least one of the one or more schematic objects. Some examples of aschematic object's posture are an object is lying down, and an object ishunched. Optionally, at least one hardware processor 120 identifies theat least one behavioral pattern according to a gesture performed by theat least one schematic object. Some examples of a gesture are raisinghands above head, moving hands in front of face, and bending.Optionally, at least one hardware processor 120 identifies the at leastone behavioral pattern according to one or more clusters of schematicobjects of the one or more schematic objects. Some examples of a clusterof objects are traffic congestion, backload of passengers due to tardypublic transportation, and a gang assembling to attack another person orother cluster of persons. Optionally, at least one remote hardwareprocessor 120 identifies the at least one behavioral pattern executingat least one additional neural network.

Optionally, at least one remote hardware processor 120 computes in 505 aplurality of statistical values according to the one or more schematicobjects. Some examples of a statistical value are: an amount of personsidentified in an identified region of the one or more schematic images,an amount of persons identified in the one or more schematic images inan identified amount of time, an amount of persons identified in the oneor more schematic images performing an identified activity, an amount ofan identified event identified in the one or more schematic images, andan amount of vehicles identified in the one or more schematic images.Some examples of an identified event are an almost collision between twoor more vehicles, and physical contact between two or more persons.

The plurality of statistical values is optionally used to identify acondition existing in a space monitored by at least one device 101. Someexamples of a condition are gathering of a crowd, a problem with publictransportation, a traffic load, and improper use of public space.Optionally, the one or more behavioral patterns identified in 510comprise at least some of the plurality of statistical values.

Reference is now made again to FIG. 4. In 420, at least one remotehardware processor 120 optionally outputs an indication of the one ormore behavioral patterns identified in 410. Optionally, at least oneremote hardware processor 120 stores the indication on one or morenon-volatile digital storage 130. Optionally, at least one remotehardware processor 120 sends the indication to at least one other remotehardware processor, for example using an electronic mail digitalcommunication protocol. Optionally, at least one remote hardwareprocessor 120 sends the indication to a communication device of a user,for example a mobile phone or a two-way radio transceiver. Optionally,at least one remote hardware processor 120 displays a message on one ormore display device 121. Optionally, at least one remote hardwareprocessor 120 delivers an electrical signal to one or more audio device122, for example for the purpose of sounding an alarm.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

It is expected that during the life of a patent maturing from thisapplication many relevant image sensors will be developed and the scopeof the term image sensor is intended to include all such newtechnologies a priori.

As used herein the term “about” refers to ±10%.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes”, “including”, “having”and their conjugates mean “including but not limited to”. This termencompasses the terms “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of”.

The phrase “consisting essentially of” means that the composition ormethod may include additional ingredients and/or steps, but only if theadditional ingredients and/or steps do not materially alter the basicand novel characteristics of the claimed composition or method.

As used herein, the singular form “a”, “an” and “the” include pluralreferences unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example,the term “a compound” or “at least one compound” may include a pluralityof compounds, including mixtures thereof.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance or illustration”. Any embodiment described as “exemplary” isnot necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over otherembodiments and/or to exclude the incorporation of features from otherembodiments.

The word “optionally” is used herein to mean “is provided in someembodiments and not provided in other embodiments”. Any particularembodiment of the invention may include a plurality of “optional”features unless such features conflict.

Throughout this application, various embodiments of this invention maybe presented in a range format. It should be understood that thedescription in range format is merely for convenience and brevity andshould not be construed as an inflexible limitation on the scope of theinvention. Accordingly, the description of a range should be consideredto have specifically disclosed all the possible subranges as well asindividual numerical values within that range. For example, descriptionof a range such as from 1 to 6 should be considered to have specificallydisclosed subranges such as from 1 to 3, from 1 to 4, from 1 to 5, from2 to 4, from 2 to 6, from 3 to 6 etc., as well as individual numberswithin that range, for example, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This appliesregardless of the breadth of the range.

Whenever a numerical range is indicated herein, it is meant to includeany cited numeral (fractional or integral) within the indicated range.The phrases “ranging/ranges between” a first indicate number and asecond indicate number and “ranging/ranges from” a first indicate number“to” a second indicate number are used herein interchangeably and aremeant to include the first and second indicated numbers and all thefractional and integral numerals therebetween.

It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, forclarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also beprovided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, variousfeatures of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in thecontext of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or inany suitable subcombination or as suitable in any other describedembodiment of the invention. Certain features described in the contextof various embodiments are not to be considered essential features ofthose embodiments, unless the embodiment is inoperative without thoseelements.

All publications, patents and patent applications mentioned in thisspecification are herein incorporated in their entirety by referenceinto the specification, to the same extent as if each individualpublication, patent or patent application was specifically andindividually indicated to be incorporated herein by reference. Inaddition, citation or identification of any reference in thisapplication shall not be construed as an admission that such referenceis available as prior art to the present invention. To the extent thatsection headings are used, they should not be construed as necessarilylimiting. In addition, any priority document(s) of this applicationis/are hereby incorporated herein by reference in its/their entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for processing digital imagescomprising: at least one remote hardware processor; and at least onedevice, comprising at least one processing circuitry configured for:receiving from at least one image sensor, electrically coupled to theprocessing circuitry, at least one digital image captured by the atleast one image sensor; partitioning at least one object, identified inthe at least one digital image, into a plurality of object segments;replacing in the at least one digital image each of the plurality ofobject segments with a schematic segment, illustrating respective objectsegment, to produce at least one schematic image; and sending the atleast one schematic image to the at least one remote hardware processor;wherein the at least one remote hardware processor is adapted to:receiving the at least one schematic image from the at least one device;analyzing the at least one schematic image to identify at least onebehavioral pattern of at least one schematic object identified in the atleast one schematic image, each of the at least one schematic objectcomprising a plurality of schematic segments and illustrating one of theat least one object; and outputting an indication of the at least onebehavioral pattern.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least oneobject is a person or an animal.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein atleast one of the plurality of object segments is a body part.
 4. Thesystem of claim 3, wherein the body part is selected from a group ofbody parts consisting of: a limb, a torso, a part of a torso, a head, apart of a limb, and a joint.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the atleast one object is a vehicle.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein theschematic segment is a two-dimensional geometric object.
 7. The systemof claim 1, wherein the at least one processing circuitry is furtherconfigured for removing from the at least one schematic image at leastone other object, identified in the at least one digital image.
 8. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the at least one other object is selectedfrom a group comprising: a person, a license plate, a building, a fence,an animal, and an identified private region.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein the at least one behavioral pattern is identified according toat least one of: a posture of the at least one schematic object, atleast one gesture of the at least one schematic object, and at least onecluster of the at least one schematic object.
 10. The system of claim 1,wherein the at least one behavioral pattern is selected from a group ofpossible behavioral patterns comprising: a congregation of persons, aperson walking, a person running, a person falling, a person lying down,an object moving into a road, a person riding a bicycle, a person ridingan electrical bicycle, contact between a vehicle and a person, a missedcontact between a vehicle and a person, an altercation between at leasttwo persons, an object bypassing an obstacle, a person being attacked,drawing of a weapon, stalking, vagrancy, and presence of a person in arestricted region.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least oneprocessing circuitry is configured for sending the at least oneschematic image to the at least one remote hardware processor via atleast one digital communication network interface connected to the atleast one processing circuitry.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein theat least one digital communication network interface is connected to adigital communication network selected from a group of networkscomprising of: an Ethernet network, a wireless local area network, and acellular network.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least oneremote hardware processor is further adapted to computing a plurality ofstatistical values according to the at least one schematic object. 14.The system of claim 1, wherein outputting the indication of the at leastone behavioral pattern comprises one or more of: storing the indicationon at least one non-volatile digital storage connected to the at leastone remote hardware processor, sending the indication to at least oneother remote hardware processor, sending a message to a communicationdevice of a user, displaying a message on a display device connected tothe at least one remote hardware processor, and delivering an electricalsignal to an audio device connected to the at least one remote hardwareprocessor.
 15. The system of claim 1, wherein analyzing the at least oneschematic image comprises computing a plurality of statistical values;and wherein the indication of the at least one behavioral patterncomprises at least some of the plurality of statistical values.
 16. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein the plurality of statistical valuescomprises at least one of: an amount of persons identified in anidentified region of the at least one schematic image, an amount ofpersons identified in the at least one schematic image in an identifiedamount of time, an amount of persons identified in the at least oneschematic image performing an identified activity, an amount of anidentified event identified in the at least one schematic image, and anamount of vehicles identified in the at least one schematic image. 17.The system of claim 1, wherein partitioning the at least one objectcomprises executing at least one neural network by the at least oneprocessing circuitry.
 18. The system of claim 1, wherein replacing inthe at least one digital image each of the plurality of object segmentscomprises executing at least one other neural network by the at leastone processing circuitry.
 19. A method for processing digital imagescomprising: on at least one device: receiving from at least one imagesensor, electrically coupled to a processing circuitry, at least onedigital image captured by the at least one image sensor; partitioning atleast one object, identified in the at least one digital image, into aplurality of object segments; replacing in the at least one digitalimage each of the plurality of object segments with a schematic segment,illustrating respective object segment, to produce at least oneschematic image; and sending the at least one schematic image to the atleast one remote hardware processor; and on at least one remote hardwareprocessor: receiving the at least one schematic image from the at leastone device; analyzing the at least one schematic image to identify atleast one behavioral pattern of at least one schematic object identifiedin the at least one schematic image, each of the at least one schematicobject comprising a plurality of schematic segments and illustrating oneof the at least one object; and outputting an indication of the at leastone behavioral pattern.